Major Portsmouth Northern Tier development unveiled

PORTSMOUTH — Plans for a new development in the city's Northern Tier were announced Monday and include a 98-room hotel, 14 condominiums, a 658-space parking garage, a conference center and a park with public art.

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By Elizabeth Dinan

seacoastonline.com

By Elizabeth Dinan

Posted Dec. 3, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Dec 3, 2013 at 8:44 AM

By Elizabeth Dinan

Posted Dec. 3, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Dec 3, 2013 at 8:44 AM

» Social News

PORTSMOUTH — Plans for a new development in the city's Northern Tier were announced Monday and include a 98-room hotel, 14 condominiums, a 658-space parking garage, a conference center and a park with public art.

The developer, HarborCorp LLC, plans to build on what is now a surface parking lot at the corner of Russell and Deer streets. Whole Foods Market would anchor the center of the development, according to plans released Monday.

Project spokesman Paul Young said the proposed development is outside of a proposed form-based zoning district and within the Historic District. Called the "North End Project" by developers, plans include a "high-end boutique hotel," while the brand of that hotel has yet to be determined, Young said. The entire project would be LEED certified, he said, meaning the development would be energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

The parking garage is proposed for the Deer Street end of the project and, according to Young, would include a public parking component. He said developers plan to work with city officials to arrange a lease agreement to offer some of the garage parking spaces to city residents and workers. More than 170 parking spaces would be available under Whole Foods Market, and shoppers would be offered free parking for two hours, Young said.

An "event center" is also planned and the developers said Monday that it would replace a loss of community meeting space since the 2004 closing of Yoken's restaurant on Lafayette Road.

A park with a public art component is also proposed, the developers said. Young said members of the city's arts groups will be invited to help brainstorm what the art element would be.

Plans will have to go through design review and gain approval from city land-use boards, including the Historic District Commission. According to the developer, after the project gets those approvals, construction will begin in 2016.

HarborCorp principal Chris Thompson said his family has "been a big part of the North End since we opened the Sheraton in 1988."

"At that time, there was a great need for hotel space in Portsmouth and we were able to meet that need," Thompson said. "Today, the city desires additional public parking, an organic and sustainable shopping option and community meeting space, and we are happy to offer these to the community. We hope the project will serve as a landmark space for the North End for the next three decades and more, as the Sheraton has been for the city."

Thompson said the project would create "hundreds of construction jobs and permanent jobs," add "millions of dollars" to the local economy and bring "significant revenues" to the city.

Prior plans for the same site called for a public-private parking garage. But in 2007, a Rockingham County Superior Court judge called that plan "unlawful" because it benefited HarborCorp more than it did the city.

The earlier plan, which was approved by the City Council in 2005, called for the city to bond $15 million for a parking garage at the site, where a Westin hotel and conference center was planned by HarborCorp.

Judge Kenneth McHugh wrote in a decision that the agreement provided the city with only 57 (of 657) parking spaces for use by the general public at peak times. Operational losses "that may last for many years" after construction were also cited by the judge as a reason that plan favored the developer.